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CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner mimicked many other media outlets in condemnation against Florida surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo on Wednesday.
Appearing on "The Lead with Jake Tapper," Reiner took part in a discussion on Florida’s latest health guidance that recommended healthy children should not receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
DC PARENT CALLS ON MAYOR TO ‘UNMASK KIDS AFTER ‘IGNORING’ SCHOOL MASK-WEARING GUIDANCE
KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - 2021/09/22: Newly appointed state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during a press conference at Neo City Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
"In general, healthy children with no significant underlying health conditions under 16 years old are at little to no risk of severe illness complications from COVID-19. For adolescents 16 to 17 years of age, the risk of myocarditis due to the COVID-19 vaccines may outweigh the benefits," Florida's guidance read.
Florida is the first state to make this recommendation while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has encouraged children ages 5 and up to be vaccinated.
Because of this change in guidance, Reiner declared Ladapo to be a "disgraceful surgeon general."
"Florida has a disgraceful surgeon general," Reiner said. "I think what has become abundantly clear is that children do get this virus. Most children thankfully will do fine with it, but the CDC says we’ve lost about 1,400 kids to coronavirus and thousands and thousands of children have been hospitalized. That can almost entirely be prevented by vaccination."
Newly appointed state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during a press conference at Neo City Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. (Photo by Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
While Reiner acknowledged that some studies have shown vaccines to have less effect on small children, he emphasized that vaccines are still "very, very effective" against the virus.
"The surgeon general of Florida has been anti-mask, anti-vax. He’s been discredited by America’s frontline physicians. It’s an embarrassment," Reiner said.
While Ladapo’s recommendation has been debated by doctors, media outlets have overwhelmingly attacked Ladapo for his positions regarding vaccine and mask mandates.
FLORIDA RECOMMENDATION AGAINST VACCINATING HEALTHY CHILDREN DRAWS SCATHING MEDIA RESPONSE
Reiner continued to defend the use of vaccines and suggested a seasonal booster similar to the flu shot.
Lurie Children's hospital registered nurse Carolyn Ruyle prepares a dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Lurie Children's hospital Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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"When we get a flu shot, we end up getting the sniffles for a few days. And you’re home out of work for a couple days. That’s not a big deal if you’re not hospitalized, and I think we’ll get to that point with omicron where it is a seasonal virus. We’ll probably have a seasonal booster the same way we have a seasonal vaccine for influenza, and we learn to live our lives in that way," Reiner said.
Ladapo was originally appointed to his position by Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., in September. The Florida Senate officially confirmed him on Feb. 23.
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